Project description:Inflammation and infection can trigger local tissue Na+-accumulation. This Na+-rich environment boosts pro-inflammatory activation of monocyte/macrophage-like cells (MΦ) and their antimicrobial activity. Enhanced Na+-driven MΦ-function requires the osmoprotective transcription factor nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5), which augments NO production and contributes to increased autophagy. However, the mechanism of Na+-sensing in MΦ remained unclear. High extracellular Na+ levels (HS) trigger a substantial Na+-influx and Ca2+ loss. Here, we show that the Na+/ Ca2+-exchanger 1 (NCX1/ solute carrier family 8 member A1 (SLC8A1)) plays a critical role in HS-triggered Na+-influx, concomitant Ca2+ efflux and subsequent NFAT5 accumulation. Moreover, interfering with NCX1-activity impairs HS-boosted inflammatory signaling, infection-triggered autolysosome formation and subsequent antibacterial activity. Taken together, this demonstrates that NCX1 is able to sense Na+ and is required for amplifying inflammatory and antimicrobial MΦ responses upon HS exposure. Manipulating NCX1 offers a new strategy to regulate MΦ function.
Project description:Inflammation and infection can trigger local tissue Na+ accumulation. This Na+-rich environment boosts proinflammatory activation of monocyte/macrophage-like cells (MΦs) and their antimicrobial activity. Enhanced Na+-driven MΦ function requires the osmoprotective transcription factor nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5), which augments nitric oxide (NO) production and contributes to increased autophagy. However, the mechanism of Na+ sensing in MΦs remained unclear. High extracellular Na+ levels (high salt [HS]) trigger a substantial Na+ influx and Ca2+ loss. Here, we show that the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger 1 (NCX1, also known as solute carrier family 8 member A1 [SLC8A1]) plays a critical role in HS-triggered Na+ influx, concomitant Ca2+ efflux, and subsequent augmented NFAT5 accumulation. Moreover, interfering with NCX1 activity impairs HS-boosted inflammatory signaling, infection-triggered autolysosome formation, and subsequent antibacterial activity. Taken together, this demonstrates that NCX1 is able to sense Na+ and is required for amplifying inflammatory and antimicrobial MΦ responses upon HS exposure. Manipulating NCX1 offers a new strategy to regulate MΦ function.
Project description:Bacteria respond to osmotic stress by a substantial increase in the intracellular osmolality, adjusting their cell turgor for altered growth conditions. Using E. coli as a model organism we demonstrate here that bacterial responses to hyperosmotic stress specifically depend on the nature of osmoticum used. We show that increasing acute hyperosmotic NaCl stress above ~1.0 Os kg-1 causes a dose-dependent K+ leak from the cell, resulting in a substantial decrease in cytosolic K+ content and a concurrent accumulation of Na+ in the cell. At the same time, isotonic sucrose or mannitol treatment (non-ionic osmotica) results in a gradual increase of the net K+ uptake. Ion flux data is consistent with growth experiments showing that bacterial growth is impaired by NaCl at the concentration resulting in a switch from net K+ uptake to efflux. Microarray experiments reveal that about 40% of up-regulated genes shared no similarity in their responses to NaCl and sucrose treatment, further suggesting specificity of osmotic adjustment in E. coli to ionic- and non-ionic osmotica The observed differences are explained by the specificity of the stress-induced changes in the membrane potential of bacterial cells highlighting the importance of voltage-gated K+ transporters for bacterial adaptation to hyperosmotic stress.
Project description:Bacteria respond to osmotic stress by a substantial increase in the intracellular osmolality, adjusting their cell turgor for altered growth conditions. Using E. coli as a model organism we demonstrate here that bacterial responses to hyperosmotic stress specifically depend on the nature of osmoticum used. We show that increasing acute hyperosmotic NaCl stress above ~1.0 Os kg-1 causes a dose-dependent K+ leak from the cell, resulting in a substantial decrease in cytosolic K+ content and a concurrent accumulation of Na+ in the cell. At the same time, isotonic sucrose or mannitol treatment (non-ionic osmotica) results in a gradual increase of the net K+ uptake. Ion flux data is consistent with growth experiments showing that bacterial growth is impaired by NaCl at the concentration resulting in a switch from net K+ uptake to efflux. Microarray experiments reveal that about 40% of up-regulated genes shared no similarity in their responses to NaCl and sucrose treatment, further suggesting specificity of osmotic adjustment in E. coli to ionic- and non-ionic osmotica The observed differences are explained by the specificity of the stress-induced changes in the membrane potential of bacterial cells highlighting the importance of voltage-gated K+ transporters for bacterial adaptation to hyperosmotic stress. Experiment Overall Design: Two biological replicates per treatment with microarray analysis using the Affymetrix GeneChip E. coli Genome array. Treatments used included: Experiment Overall Design: Control - E. coli Frag1, grown to early stationary growth phase in a mineral salts medium with 0.1% glucose at 25 C Experiment Overall Design: Sucrose hyperosmotic treatment - 1.25 M sucrose added to control culture Experiment Overall Design: for 10 min. Experiment Overall Design: NaCl hyperosmotic treatment - 1.37 M NaCl added to control culture Experiment Overall Design: For microarray data comparisons the sucrose and NaCl hyperosmotic treatment data was compared to the no treatment control data separately. The sucrose to control and NaCL to control comparison data tables are linked below.
Project description:Homeostatic control of intracellular ionic strength is essential for protein, organelle and genome function, yet mechanisms that sense and enable adaptation to ionic stress remain poorly understood in animals. We find that the transcription factor NFAT5 directly senses solution ionic strength using a C-terminal intrinsically disordered region. Both in intact cells and in a purified system, NFAT5 forms dynamic, reversible biomolecular condensates in response to increasing ionic strength. This self-associative property, conserved from insects to mammals, allows NFAT5 to accumulate in the nucleus and activate genes that restore cellular ion content. Mutations that reduce condensation or those that promote aggregation both reduce NFAT5 activity, highlighting the importance of optimally tuned associative interactions. To investigate the composition of NFAT5 condensates in response to hypertonic stress, proteins in close proximity of NFAT5 were identified using a variant of NFAT5 fused to TurboID as bait. Hypertonic stress increases NFAT5 proximity to protein complexes belonging to the GO gene sets of “transcription coactivator activity” and “positive regulation of DNA templated transcription initiation.” Closer inspection revealed that the association between NFAT5 and two transcriptional co-activators (the mediator complex and BRD4) and RNAPII itself increased in response to hypertonic stress.
Project description:Arabidopsis Col-0 seeds were germinated and grown for two weeks on Arabidopsis thaliana salt media (ATS, control) or ATS media supplemented 50, 75, 100 or 125 mM NaCl that imposes both an ionic and osmotic stress; or ATS media supplemented with iso-osmolar concentrations of sorbitol (100, 150, 200 or 250 mM) that imposes only an osmotic stress. The aim of the study was to identify genes involved in plant growth and adaptation to ionic stress compared to genes involved in growth and adaptation to osmotic stress conditions. To do this we identified lists of genes that are differentially expressed in plants grown in NaCl (A) and lists of genes differentially expressed in plants grown in sorbitol (B). We then compared these lists to find ionic/salt-specific genes that are only expressed in plants grown in NaCl and not in plants grown in sorbitol; and osmotic genes that are expressed both in plants grown in NaCl and in plants grown in sorbitol. Associated publication: Cackett et al. (2022) Salt-specific gene expression reveals elevated auxin levels in Arabidopsis thaliana plants grown under saline conditions, DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.804716
Project description:This study investigates the impact of ionic strength on the gelation kinetics of collagen biomaterial inks and evaluates the efficiency of TGFβ-1 sequestration within these hydrogels, alongside their compatibility with bioprinting live chondrocyte and adipose-derived stem cell lines for cartilage tissue engineering. By adjusting sodium chloride and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) concentrations, we demonstrate that reduced ionic strengths accelerate gelation, facilitating high-fidelity bioprinting while supporting high cell viability and post-printing proliferation of chondrocytes. Furthermore, at a 1% collagen concentration, the hydrogel effectively immobilized TGFβ-1, with less than 0.5% released over two weeks, indicating potent sequestration capabilities. Using adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells, histomorphological and transcriptomic analyses reveal that the presence of TGFβ-1 significantly enhances chondrogenesis. These findings underscore the critical role of ionic strength in optimizing collagen ink properties for advanced bioprinting applications and highlight the potential of collagen hydrogels as effective carriers for sustained growth factor delivery, paving the way for successful cartilage tissue engineering strategies.
Project description:Few works have addressed the effects provoked by the exposure to cadmium containing nanoparticles (NPs) on adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). We studied the effects of CdS NPs (5 nm) or ionic cadmium (10 µg Cd/L) after 3 and 21 d of exposure and at 6 months post-exposure (mpe). Acute toxicity was recorded after exposure to both forms of cadmium. Significant cadmium accumulation was measured in the whole fish after both treatments and autometallography showed a higher accumulation of metal in the intestine than that in the liver. Histopathological alterations, such as inflammation in gills and vacuolization in the liver, were detected after the exposure to both cadmium forms and, in a lower extent, at 6 mpe. X-ray analysis proved the presence of CdS NPs in these organs. The hepatic transcriptome analysis revealed that gene ontology terms such as “immune response” or “actin binding” were over-represented after 21 d of exposure to ionic cadmium respect to CdS NPs treatment. Exposure to CdS NPs caused a significant effect on pathways involved in the immune response and oxidative stress, while the exposure to ionic cadmium affected significantly pathways involved in DNA damage and repair and in the energetic metabolism. Oxidative damage to liver proteins was detected after the exposure to ionic cadmium, while a stronger destabilization of the hepatocyte lysosomal membrane was recorded under exposure to CdS NPs. In summary, although ionic cadmium provoked stronger effects than CdS NPs, both cadmium forms exerted an array of lethal and sublethal effects to zebrafish.
Project description:The present work was devoted to a multi-level characterization of E. coli exposed to Ag+-mediated stress using for the first time an approach of integrative biology, based on the combination of physiological, biochemical and transcriptomic data sets. Bacterial growth and survival after Ag+ exposure were first quantified and related to the accumulation of intracellular silver, as detected by Nano Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (NanoSIMS) at high lateral resolution. The whole transcriptomic response of E. coli cells under ionic silver-mediated stress was then characterized. Clear correlations were established between (i) cell physiology, (ii) variations in the biochemical characteristics of cell fatty acids and proteins, and (iii) regulation of gene expression. This challenging approach allowed determining key genetic markers of the E. coli response to ionic silver. In particular, we identified Ag+-mediated regulations of gene expression in correlation with growth (e.g. genes of transporters, transcriptional regulators, ribosomal proteins), necessary for ionic silver transport and detoxification (e.g. copA, cueO, mgtA, nhaR) and to cope with various stress (dnaK, pspA, metA,R, oxidoreductase genes). Regulation of gene expression after Ag+ exposure was also correlated to macromolecular modifications, such as acyl chain length (e.g. fadL, lpxA, arnA), protein secondary structure (e.g. dnaJ, htpX, degP) and cell morphology (e.g. ycfS, ycbB).